The State’s Turn: Dwek Gets Four Years on State Bank Fraud Charges

FREEHOLD— Master con man Solomon Dwek was sentenced in state Superior Court today to four years in prison for convincing a Monmouth County bank to loan him $13 million to purchase a Manhattan property he never bought.

The sentence, imposed by state Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully, will be served in a federal prison at the same time Dwek is serving a 6-year sentence imposed in federal court on Wednesday for a $50 million bank fraud.

Dwek, 40, of Deal, was sentenced in state Superior Court in Freehold today for the crime of corporate misconduct, to which he pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2009.

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor John Loughery said Dwek abused a trust placed in him by officials of an unnamed Monmouth County bank to obtain loans to purchase a building in Lower Manhattan that houses part of the New York Stock Exchange. Dwek’s plan was to quickly flip the building and make a $15 million profit, but instead of using the loans to purchase the property, he diverted it to nine different creditors, Loughery said.

Loughery and defense attorney Charles Uliano cited Dwek’s extensive work as a government informant that led to numerous convictions for corruption, money laundering and organ brokering as a basis for the plea bargain made in the case.

His original charge was downgraded to one carrying a maximum term of five years in prison, from one carrying a maximum of double that.

“My 6 1/2 years of cooperation got my sentence reduced from five years to four years?” Dwek asked, incredulously.

Scully, in imposing the sentence, said Dwek had already been given a substantial benefit for his cooperation with the charge being downgraded.

Scully also dismissed a defense argument that Dwek suffers from an addiction to wheeling and dealing.

“Being consumed by greed, Mr. Dwek, is in no way considered an addiction,” the judge said. “There’s no 12-step program for greed.”